Getting Things Off My Chest: Give Yourself Permission!

I recently had the opportunity to check something off my travel “bucket list”- hunting for Mother’s Nature’s black and white diamonds in Italy. (aka truffles). The season for the best truffles is short, October to December, and restaurants around the country lure devoted fans with pricey “truffle dinners.” I’ve only enjoyed truffles shaved over dishes at places like SD26 (sadly now closed), Spago Beverly Hills and Spiaggia in Chicago. So, an invitation to go to the source was a dream come true.

Castello delle Regine’s Sangiovese, one of its many outstanding Umbrian wines

A special treat was a visit to Urbani Tartufi, purveyors of the world’s finest truffles, where we traipsed through a small clearing in the woods with the truffle hunters and their dogs who energetically set about nosing for truffles here and there.

Urbani trains rescue dogs to hunt truffles.

Wonder what all these black truffles our dogs unearthed would sell for at auction?

The experience was topped off with decadent lunch with generous helpings of truffles

My idea of a good shave!

Urbani Tartufi supplies 70% of the world’s truffle market. The best truffles are October to December.

“Such a short trip!” some people commented. I’ll take short and special over “never” anytime. I’ve learned life is about seizing the opportunity and savoring the moment and not being rigidly stuck to schedules.

Bucket lists are the experiences you dream of having one day, some day, any day. Some involve travel; others focus on friends and family; still others focus on creative expression. Age and background play a role. Recently I asked two men in their twenties what was on their bucket list. They both responded, “to become fathers.” I thought to myself, “Wow! Motherhood was never on my bucket list but writing a book was.”

Some say the term “bucket list” is all the things you want to do before you die. Others refer to it as the “f-ckit list” of all the things you want to do in life spite of what comes your way. I think of it as a “luck-it list” because you are one lucky person if you embrace opportunities that come your way and truly enjoy them.

If you have an empty bucket list I hope it’s because you have done everything in life you have ever dreamed of experiencing. Dreams are what drive many of us to expand our minds. If your bucket list is full to overflowing, then maybe you need to start tapping it. What’s holding you back and are you just making excuses?